It has long been known to use various types of adjustable display racks in the retail industry, particularly in the grocery industry. Conventional adjustable racks are limited in their ability to adjust for height and depth to accommodate various size display counters and to effectively display varying amounts of merchandise. For example, when less product is to be displayed it is desirable to have a high profile rack in the display counter to achieve a look of fullness for effectively displaying the product. Generally, prior art adjustable shelves have had set height and depth adjustments requiring that the product, rather than the shelf, be rearranged to create an attractive display.
Also, the prior art generally does not provide a rack which is capable of being used in multiple configurations. Generally, conventional racks do not achieve both multiple step and multiple angle configurations with one rack assembly.
It would be advantageous to provide a display rack which is height and depth adjustable. It is desirable to have a single rack assembly which can be placed in multiple configurations including adjustable step and angle positions. Many attempts have been made to produce such a rack, but these attempts have fallen short in meeting the needs of the grocery industry. The following patents exemplify the display racks currently available.
One attempt to produce an adjustable display rack is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,522 issued Mar. 7, 1978 to Trubiano. This patent is for an adjustable display rack which comprises a base frame, a first articulated top shelf supported above the base frame and a second articulated top shelf supported above the first articulated top shelf and collapsible thereon. The first articulated top shelf has a hinge connection at a rear edge thereof. Supports are provided to maintain the articulated top shelves in a predetermined adjustable position above the base frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,453, issued May 28, 1968 to Dantino et al. discloses an adjustable display rack. The display rack has a first shelf section pivotally connected to the back of a frame. A second shelf section is connected to the first for telescoping and pivoting relative thereto. The first and second sections are mutually supporting to provide a substantially continuous shelf portion when the sections are telescoping. A third shelf section is pivotally connected to the second section and is supported at its forward end on the base. A support depends from one of the second and third shelf sections and is adapted to engage slots on the base for maintaining the shelf sections in different positions. The rack is adapted to fit a display case.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,452 issued May 28, 1968 to Dantino et al. teaches a store display rack having a first platform rotatably mounted and a second platform having optional slidable or rotational engagement with the first. The first and second platforms are mounted substantially uniplanar when overlapped and a third platform is rotatably engaged with the second. Support means are provided for maintaining the platforms fixed in relative position when permitting relative movement for varying the position thereof. The platforms can be mounted on a frame adapted to fit into a display rack, which frame can be broken down, or the supplemental bed can be mounted directly on the display rack.
It is apparent, upon review of the above referenced patents, that no single shelf design taught by these references can achieve all the features of the present invention, including height and depth adjustments and multiple step and angle configuration. A display rack, particularly one used in marketing grocery produce, desirably provides one rack capable of merchandising many different kinds of fruit, vegetables and other produce such as cider and fruit juice. The type of fruits and vegetables vary with the seasons, generally soft fruits being available in the summer and harder fruits and vegetables being available in the winter. It is necessary to stack less of the soft fruits to prevent bruising and product loss. Also, it is desirable to have a rack adjustable to a higher or lower profile depending on the amount of product available. When marketing juices or cider, it is advantageous to use many steps to stack the bottles. The width of the step is desirably variable depending on the width of the bottles. It is apparent then that a need exists in the industry for a rack capable of obtaining multiple step and angle configurations and which is height and depth adjustable.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a multiple configuration display rack including variable step and angle adjustments.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a single rack assembly which may be height and depth adjustable to fit display counters of varying sizes.